


Of Dark Forests and Bright Futures

by Otter_Eggs



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: Alex deserved better, Alex was a victim, I just want them to be happy, JAY IS IN THE BACK ROOMS, Jay is so pure, Jay is trans, Jay is very good with kids, Jessica is a good friend, Jessica is gay, Not a ship fic, OR IS HE, Presumed Dead, Tim is a sad man, Tim is ambiguous, bros before literal death, god blessica jessica, hehe, hotels? hotels, i am sad, i needed to fix this, jay is gay, jessica is awesome, missing 411 but jay likes helping people, not really - Freeform, shhh no Jay is SO not a forest spirit, slight Jam - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24086923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otter_Eggs/pseuds/Otter_Eggs
Summary: A fix-it fiction for Marble Hornets.Tim is hurting after entry 86, and makes it his life goal to live the best life he can. Jay wakes up in the woods, and no matter how far or fast he runs he cannot leave. Jessica is confused when she finds the Marble Hornets youtube channel. Brian isn't sure why the forest has been so quiet lately.Will add more as the story goes on.
Relationships: None currently, may have hints of some Jam tho
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. Prologue-I take a deep breath, and step into the light.

**Author's Note:**

> My updating may be infrequent, apologies that this is so short. please let me know if I have made any mistakes or if you have any critique :)
> 
> a lot of lore is literally made up on the spot fight me.

The world is dark, and I am afraid. I do not fear the dark. No, I fear the world when the light shines on me again. Will I remain in the dark? Or will I step into the light, leaving the terror behind me and forgetting about all of this? I have debated this for years, falling over myself as I move towards the almost unreachable goal of normality. I feel guilt, my heart wrenching and bile rising in my throat. I can’t forget, I will never forget. The events of these last few years will haunt me for the rest of my life; twisting in my soul. I have lost more than I could ever imagine losing and then after I found hope, lost more. 

With shaking hands I tell Jessica everything is alright, that Jay is alive. I'm lying. I guess totheark knew somehow, I really am a liar. I upload the final entry. I feel numb; sitting up on the hotel bed and staring at the wall. Days pass in a blur. I move like a robot with singular, brief commands that lead to more small actions. I need to end this; to move forward from the influence of this monster. I need to be free. I need to live. I need to survive and live the life that so many people couldn't. That they sacrificed for me to keep.

I take a deep breath, and step into the light.


	2. Being Lost isn't Hard When You are Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay is scared and alone, yet finds a way to comfort someone who feels the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter is up. boom. up next is best girl Jessica. :)
> 
> again, please critique and give suggestions. I enjoy making my work the best it can be.

The forest is dark, and I am afraid. I’m running, where am I? The dark is broken by the light of the camera I hold in front of myself as I run. The light shakes, illuminating trees in front of me in short bursts. The trees are overwhelming, there are so many of them. They are everywhere; in my vision and ripping through my clothes. They feel like claws without the digging pain that comes with claws. Emotions deep inside me rising and crashing like waves on a beach are the only things that remind me I am alive.

This can’t be Rosswood. No matter how far I go; no matter how fast I run, I cannot escape. My lungs do not burn, my legs do not hurt, my feet do not ache. I feel nothing except the trees gently brushing past my body and the cool air on my face. How long have I been running? I do not know. I am only using the camera as a light to maintain its battery; the date and time stuck on a series of zeroes. The front of my brain feels weird; disconnected and like a dream. I trip over a branch, my body careening to the ground. I let out a scream but no pain filled my body. The impact of my rough landing shocked through my body in a quick thud.

I sit there for a moment, focusing on the feeling of the ground underneath me and my own soft breathing. My brain tosses and turns as I try to think. As I focus on the sounds around me, I come to the terrifying realization. The forest is screaming. My breathing picks up, I throw myself to my feet; running in circles as I try to escape the loud, terrible, terrible noise.

I find myself in a clearing, my mind muddled. The forest is no longer screaming. I can hear the buzzing of the woods around me. Bugs and leaves blowing in the wind calms me. Where am i? My mind is clearer now. I let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground. The ground is cool underneath my body.

Another sound peaks my interest. Crying, why is someone crying? I blink a few times, my hand going to my face. I am wearing a mask. Why am I wearing a mask? Panic swells in me as I try to take it off. It won’t come off. Why wont it come off? I run my hands over my masked face and feel the bumps and ridges. It's so smooth, so cool under my bare hands. I shiver. It's cool out here. 

The crying gets louder, and my heart softens. It's a child. Why is a child out here? It is cold and dark. I stand up and try to find the source of the noise. I use the light of my camera to scan the area. The light bounces off the trees and moves like a snake across the landscape, slithering along. My light reaches a deep crevice in the land, shining over a bright pink sweatshirt. 

I walk over to her, my feet making no sound as I move. However I am not focused on that. I gently crouch down a few feet away from the girl. Opening my mouth to talk to her, no noise escapes me. I bring my hand to my throat, fear running through me as I realize I cannot speak. My mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. I feel like crying.

“Hello?” her voice is like a bullet in the night, I look up at her quickly. She shrinks. I wave at her, gently sitting myself on the ground and trying to not look intimidating. She waves back, a quick and repetitive movement as she looks at me with big wide eyes.

“I can’t find my mommy,” she says, her voice trembling. She looks down at her feet and rocks back and forth. I soften, she is lost. 

“I'm not supposed to talk to strangers but it's dark and I can't find my mommy.” she mumbles, and I can barely hear her. I slowly move closer to her, and she looks up at me with wide eyes. I stop, furrowing my brow and trying to figure out how to communicate while I cannot speak. I bring a hand up to point to myself. I bring the other to point to my mouth. I shake my head. Her eyes widened.

“Oh!” she smiles at me, playing with a stick on the ground. She scratches closer to me, and I tilt my head in a show of over the top confusion. Body language. I can use body language to communicate. She giggles.

“Can you help me find my mommy skully man?” I sit confused for a moment. Oh! My mask must be a skull. I nod, standing up slowly so as to not scare her. She stands up quickly and bounces on her heels. I smile at her under my mask and take her hand. It is warm, and it feels good to connect to a human. 

We walk through the trees and I realize we are in Rosswood. I know these woods well. I make my way to the path, using the light of my camera to guide us. My paranoia spiking as my eyes trick me. A flash of white here, and movement there. I grip the girl’s hand tighter, moving quickly through the woods. We are deep in, she must have gone deeper thinking she was going back to her mom. As we move, I listen for noises. No static fills my mind. I make no noise as I walk. She does. She is very loud, she stomps on branches and hums a song as we move forward.

It does not take long to reach the path, and after that the parking lot is very easy to come by. We stand at the treeline and watch as people move quickly around the area, flashlights dancing around us as we stand still. A woman stands at a car wrapped in a blanket and talking to a police officer. She looks scared, her hair a mess as she cries.

“Mommy!” the girl yells, wrenching herself from my grip as she runs towards her mother. She hugs her legs, letting out loud sobs as her mother lets out a scream and bends down to hug her daughter tight. I smile under my mask, feeling light headed. God, what is happening to me? My focus is finally on myself again. I am alone. I am scared. But I helped someone feel better again. Happiness dwells in me as I watch her mother fret. The girl looks over at her mother's shoulder and waves. I wave back; and suddenly I am in the big woods again. 

The forest sings.


	3. Entries are Strange and so is Jessica's Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica is concerned about Jay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this,, writing day for me?? I should be doing school work but fuck that smh.

Click. 

The browser closes. I sit there in a stunned silence. Tim told me Jay was okay. He lied. Jay; the weirdo with the camera who was paranoid about everything, Jay; the guy who had dragged me into dangerous situations where crazy men threatened my life, was dead. It was strange to think of. It almost doesn't register in my mind that it was real. This had to be fiction, right? This couldn’t be real, i tell myself, knowing all the previous entries were real. It's a funny thing how the mind tries to block out certain memories. 

I feel my throat close up as tears fill my eyes. God, why am I being so sensitive? I barely knew the man. Yet after watching these videos i feel closer to him than i probably should have. I sigh, leaning forward on my hands. I have the next few days off, why not check? Why not find out where they are staying and make sure they are okay? Tim told me Jay was alright after all, so maybe this was a ploy to trick Alex? No, he would have told me. Wouldn't he? 

I care for Jay, and if he decided to go into hiding I deserved to know. I shrug on a jacket and slip some shoes on, stepping outside into the light. I blink at the sky, my eyes not used to the harsh light. I bring my hand up to shield myself, walking down the stairs and to the car. It is a nice day out, and if I were anything like I was last year I would have been taking advantage of the day. I am not like I was last year. I am colder, harsher, and have seen how cruel the world can be. I slip into my rickety car, it bounces as I sit down in it.  
The radio growls on as I start my car, the engine rumbling in a loud and abrasive sound.  
“A young girl who went missing in Rosswood park yesterday was found after several hours of searching-`` I switched the channel, not wanting to hear any news from that park. I hope they found her. Rosswood is a beast that holds its victims close. 

The car growls as it moves down the road, trembling with effort. I do not know where to find Tim, all I can hope is that he is still at the last hotel shown in the entries. I am nearly mindless as I pilot my vehicle around town. I can feel the nagging feeling of worry eating through my mind and making my stomach toss and turn. The words “everything is fine” turn through my mind as I pull into the parking lot.

Everything is not fine.


	4. Brian Reflects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brian is a big dumb and is cryptic as hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a double post? hm suspiciously quick for me.

The woods are quiet, not filled with the static that permeated my mind and debilitated me for many years now. The woods haven't been quite the same since I hit the ground, waking up in a horrifying state of panic. My body burns, the cool waters of the river swallowing me up and throwing me down back into reality. The Operator has not bothered me since that day, and I am thankful. In one way or another, the others have found the ark. The stifling presence of the beast no longer haunts them, and so it no longer haunts me. I am free to leave; to go into the abyss of death and maybe see the faces of my friends not covered by the fabric I laid over my eyes. 

The same eyes I close now, resting in the water I had dragged myself to. The lower half of my broken body no longer carries me forward. I struggled in the mud and murky depths between consciousness and being awake. I found myself here, resting in the shallow waters of my grave. It takes pressure off of my broken body, yet I am not deep enough to sink into nothingness. I am in a limbo in more ways than one.

I do not know whether Tim is dead or alive, my final upload should be posted by now. They know to post it if the woods no longer are filled with tension. My hope is that Tim will watch it and know it is over, if he's still out there. That he will understand all he needs to do is leave to be free from this disease that has plagued him since birth. However my messages are cryptic and often confusing so I fear my message will fall on deaf ears. How else to communicate as the world watches behind the thin veil of a screen.

It’s amazing what you think of when you have time to reflect.

I am shaken from my wallowing by a rustling in the trees, a sudden sound like someone falling from a height. A choked gasp and a soft whisper of feet against the banks of the river. I stay still, laying in my own blood and gore as the creature approaches. Never assume anything in these woods are human; it will only end in terror. I close my eyes, and brace myself for the terrible feeling of pain that never comes. I am touched softly on the face. Gently picked up from the water, the seeping water soaking the creature’s jacket. Is it the Masked Man? I am unsure. My vision is clouded by the harsh rays of the sun and my own foolish tears.

I wake up in a hospital.


End file.
